Into the New World
by cardcaptor-kanna
Summary: Yue always knew she was different from the others. After all, who wore a beanie year round in one of the hottest parts of China? Once she lands in Middle Earth, she finds out how different she really is. GIME, Legolas/OC, T for now; may change to M. Idea for story is from Caladhiel999's A Warrior's Heart. Parts may be similar, but I have her permission, so it's all good with her!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is my first Legolas/OC fic. I wasn't originally planning on writing one of these, as there are just SO MANY here, but this idea of a language barrier has been rolling around in my head for a bit. It was actually Caladhiel999's story, A Warrior's Heart, that inspired me to write this. So the beginning of the fic might be pretty similar to that, but I'll be taking my own liberties with this story. You'll see what I mean.**

**The story starts in Guilin, Guangxi, China, which is in southwestern China. I've been there and it's a lovely (and really hot) place.**

**As for the LotR/Hobbit timeline: Starts during _The Hobbit_ and goes into all of _Lord of the Rings_. My OC MIGHT become a tenth walker, I haven't decided yet.**

**When my OC talks to herself, it will be in Mandarin (well, it will be written in English but spoken as Mandarin).**

**kanna does not own A Warrior's Heart or _Lord of the Rings _or _The Hobbit_. I'll be incorporating elements of the _Lord of the Rings _books, but the story will primarily follow the movies.**

* * *

My name is Yue Liu. I was not born Chinese, but I was raised Chinese. I grew up in Guilin, which is located in Guangxi province in mainland China. I was adopted as a baby by a middle aged couple who found me abandoned near the Moon Pagoda (one of the twin pagodas in Guilin) on the night of the full moon. According to my father, that was why they named me Yue. It meant "moon."

My parents wanted me to grow up to be strong and graceful, so they taught me kung fu. They said it was how they stayed young, which made me laugh every time they said it. Whenever I asked why I was at the Moon Pagoda as a baby, however, they quickly changed the subject.

I was homeschooled because I looked different from the majority of kids my age, 24 years old. Whenever I went out, I wore a beanie hat to cover the tops of my ears; even if it was summertime. Why? My ears were pointed and my parents wanted to protect me from the awkward stares I was more than likely to receive. Then again, my long, thick, brown hair hid my ears pretty well, so there wasn't too much of a need for the beanie. Nevertheless, they made me wear it. At least I had a say in what it looked like and got to alternate beanies.

In addition to kung fu, I was also a musician. My mother taught me how to play several wind instruments because she said they were calming (and how she got my father to go out on dates with her, but that was beside the point).

It was a hot summer day. I was wearing light grey sneakers and a flowery dress and a light pink beanie. I was practicing my dizi (a Chinese bamboo flute) at a park near the twin pagodas, when I saw a rabbit limping along. My father always said we should respect nature and all living creatures, so naturally, I packed up my dizi and went after the rabbit. It looked like the poor thing couldn't even hop. "Poor thing," I whispered to myself in Mandarin.

Next thing I knew, one of my shoelaces came undone. I tripped and fell down and scraped my knees. Shortly after that, I was grabbed by strangely dressed people and taken into what looked like some sort of prison cell. Prison? What could I possibly be going to prison for?

"Stop! What are you doing? Let me go!" I shouted in Mandarin. "All I did was get fall over and get lost!"

I did not know whether my words were understood or not as the people walked away after throwing me into the cell. What I did notice, though, was the lock on the cell was extremely old fashioned. I sat down, took off my beanie, sighed, and noticed my dizi was gone. I figured they must have taken it. I sighed. How was I going to get out? Surely my mother and fatherwere worried about me. And I left my cell phone at home to charge. Not one of my better moves.

"So, he has started imprisoning young women now?" came a deep, rough voice in English. I jumped up in surprise and quickly turned around. While I could understand some English, I couldn't speak it myself. At least, not very well. The voice came from a man who was much shorter than I was, but he looked much older than me. He had thick eyebrows, long hair, and a long beard.

"Who are you?" I asked in Mandarin. The man raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" I asked louder and more assertively in the same language.

"Do I look like I speak your language?" the man asked in English. "Where do you come from? The Grey Mountains? Rohan?"

I had never heard of those places. "Guilin, Guangxi, China."

"Never heard of it. Well, you are a prisoner of Thranduil now. I am Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror," the man said.

I started to understand what this man was saying more and more, but it was still hard, because neither of my parents spoke English and were unable to teach me. None of my friends spoke English. Still, I did my best. I pointed to myself and said, "Yue." I looked around and could see there were other men in nearby cells.

"Yue?" I was in shock. This man who did not speak my language was actually able to (somewhat) pronounce my name.

I smiled and nodded before I tucked some of my hair behind my ears. I took a deep breath and tried to use what English I knew. It came out a little shakily, but I asked, "Why here?" in English.

"My men and I were traveling through this forest when we were attacked by giant spiders. Shortly after, we were captured by the elves, and..." Thorin gasped when he noticed my ears for the first time. "Your ears! An elf!"

I was very confused, but I had to hide that when he began to walk towards me in a threatening way. I got into a fighting stance and shouted in Mandarin, "Stay back!" My words fell on deaf ears as he continued to walk towards me. "Stop!" I shouted in the same language, which he ignored. I was getting scared, but I did my best death-glare and he stopped. "What elf?" I asked in broken English and a shaky voice.

"'What elf?'" Thorin asked in disbelief. "You!"

"Guilin, Guangxi, China," I said. "No elf."

"Your ears!"

"My ears?" I softly asked myself in Mandarin as I felt my ears' pointed tips. I shook my head. "You talking about...?" I trailed off in English.

"Do you understand what I'm saying to you?" Thorin asked. I nodded and made a gesture that would hopefully be understood as meaning 'somewhat.' "Do you know where you are?" I shook my head. "You are in Mirkwood."

"Mirkwood?" I asked. "Where Mirkwood?"

Thorin's angry look was replaced by one of confusion. "Do you know what I am?" he asked.

"Man?"

"Yes, but what race?" I shrugged my shoulders as if to say that I didn't know. "I am a dwarf. The future king of Erebor."

"Erebor?"

"The Lonely Mountain?"

I sighed. This was getting nowhere and I silently wished I spoke fluent English. "You are different from the elves who captured us, Lady Yue," Thorin said. "You seem to hold no hate for dwarves."

"No hate. No understand," I replied. It was the truth; I had no idea what was going on. "What happening?"

I became even more confused when a woman with red hair came to the door of the cellar Thorin and I were in. She opened the door and spoke, "I am not going to hurt you. My name is Tauriel. My king just wants to ask you a few questions. I will bring you back when he is done."

The woman called Tauriel stood their in silence, as if expecting me to say something. I looked at Thorin in confusion, as I didn't understand all of what Tauriel said. Then I remembered he didn't speak Mandarin, nor did this woman who had ears similar to mine. I sighed and told her in broken English that I understood. I said to Thorin in broken English, "I come back." I switched to Mandarin when I said, "I will find a way to get you and your friends out."

I knew Thorin didn't understand me, but it was more important that Tauriel did not understand what I said. If I was going to get a lot of people out of this place, I needed a strategy. The language barrier, for once, was to my advantage.

Tauriel and I walked in silence for what felt like an eternity before I was brought to a room with a throne. A man with long, blonde hair and ice cold blue eyes sat on the throne. He wore a crown that looked different from the kinds you'd read about in books. This crown was intricately designed and looked to be made from an old metal.

The man looked really important, so I bowed uncertainly. "A well-mannered lady," the man observed. Whoever this man was, he was probably the king. I looked at Tauriel in hope of getting some form of interpretation, but received nothing. I looked back at the king and nodded.

I looked around the room, unable to conceal the fear in my eyes. I took some deep breaths as I looked around. There were several guards around, but that didn't catch my eye. What caught my eye was seeing my dizi case in another elf's hands. I silently prayed that the instrument was still in there and it didn't have any cracks.

The elf holding the instrument case looked almost identical to the king. Was he the prince of...wherever I was? Probably. He had an important look about him. I pointed to the instrument case and used English when I said, "Mine."

"What is it?" the king asked. His eyes were so icy, almost piercing. Still, I understood what he asked.

"Dizi," I replied.

"Do I look like I speak your language?" Clearly, he didn't understand Chinese. "What is it?" he asked, his voice laced with ice.

I thought as quickly as I could about how I could communicate in a way that would get me out of here and back to Thorin so I could help him. I had an idea. I mimed playing a flute and the king nodded in understanding. He motioned for the elf who was probably the prince to give my instrument back to me. "Thank you," I shakily said. I assumed that since they

The prince nodded. "Do you know where you are?" he asked. "Who we are?"

"In Mirkwood," I replied brokenly. I pointed to him and asked, "Prince?" The prince nodded. "King?" I asked as I pointed to the man in the crown. Another nod. "Um..." I trailed off. "Why here?" I tried.

"She doesn't speak Westron very well," the king muttered to himself. I assumed Westron was English. The king quickly shook his head. "Where are your father and mother?"

"Home," I replied. Finally, something I understood. "Guilin, Guangxi, China." I sighed. This was a waste of time and the language barrier was making me grow very impatient.

I was never one to go back on a promise, and I promised Thorin that I would try to get him and his men out of here. This was wasting time; time I could be using to help Thorin. Was he a friend? Well, he was more of an acquaintance, but if he and his men wanted out of this place just as badly as I did, I had to act fast. "Want leave." The king raised an eyebrow. "Want leave now," I said with more assertiveness in my voice.

The king muttered something in another language to the prince and Tauriel, who both nodded. "I am going to take you back to your cell," Tauriel explained to me when she approached me.

"No!" I shouted. I kicked her in the chest, which sent her backwards, and was surrounded by guards moments later. "Want leave!" The guards didn't move and had their weapons pointed at me. Was I scared out of my mind? Yes. Did I want out? Yes. But not even all the kung fu training in the world could help me with this.

That's when I remembered something I saw in an old TV show, ironically called _Kung Fu_. The protagonist was able to use his hands and concentration to get his enemies to back off. Would it work here? I knew it was only a TV show and special effects, but I had to try. I took a deep breath and stared at the king with my hand on my other wrist and concentrated hard. Next thing I knew, he yelled out in pain and the guards went running towards him. My chance had come at last! I ran out of the throne room and was outside in the forest. "Thorin," I whispered to myself.

I searched and searched and searched for a way inside without getting noticed by the guards, but I knew that my time was running out. The guards were sure to find me any second. I saw a river with several barrels floating down it and recognized one of the dwarves in the barrels as Thorin. I couldn't swim, but it was my only shot at escaping. I ran and jumped into the river and was lucky enough to be able to grab onto a barrel that a much smaller man was in. Whoever it was, he wasn't a dwarf, but he didn't complain as we all floated down the river in the barrels. I held on with all my strength and did my best not to scream for fear of being caught.

After a few minutes, I was pushed up against another barrel. That didn't feel good. There was a gate blocking our way. "Great," I muttered to myself. I was starting to lose my grip. "Help!" I said in a fearful voice. "No swim!"

A young and handsome dwarf tried to pull a lever that was probably going to open the gate and get us further away, but he was struck in the leg by a black arrow. "Kili!" a blonde dwarf shouted as the dwarf called Kili fell to the ground. What the heck was this place? A hideous looking creature walked forward out of the shadows. It looked like the stuff of nightmares. Other creatures followed. My kung fu was good, but it wasn't a killing art. I had to get out and help these dwarves and...whatever the other man was.

I did my best and used my strong kung fu technique to get out of the way. The creatures were knocked back, but not dead. I ran and ran as fast as I could along the shoreline until I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I fell to the ground and looked at myself, and I saw some of my skin starting to turn black. "Poison!" I shouted in Mandarin. I knew it was a bad idea, but I tried to get up. I managed to run a few yards before I fell over and someone caught me. It was the prince.

"Lady Yue!" Thorin shouted. The rest of the dwarves gasped, but they couldn't do anything as they were all still in their barrels going down the river.

I struggled to get out the word, "Why?" before I blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So this is my first Legolas/OC fic. I wasn't originally planning on writing one of these, as there are just SO MANY here, but this idea of a language barrier has been rolling around in my head for a bit. It was actually Caladhiel999's story, A Warrior's Heart, that inspired me to write this. So the beginning of the fic (aka however many chapters it takes me to get through _Desolation of Smaug _and _Battle of the Five Armies_; I plan on it being 3 or 4 chapters) might be pretty similar to that, but I'll be taking my own liberties with this story. You'll see what I mean.**

**I am amazed at the response this is getting! I'll be doing review responses here instead of sending private messages. Why? I just feel it's easier. (plus with anonymous reviewers, you can't exactly send them private messages).**

**Victoria: Holy crapballs might be my new favorite thing to say. I might have to use it when I'm with friends and see something surprising (speaking of surprising, did you see _Avengers: Endgame_? Holy crapballs, was that surprising and amazing and all kinds of emotional!). Seriously. Anyway, I'm glad you like the story! Here's another chapter!**

**Caladhiel999: I'm glad you like this! Feel free to call me out on it if it becomes too similar.**

**kanna does not own A Warrior's Heart or _Lord of the Rings _or _The Hobbit_. I'll be incorporating elements of the _Lord of the Rings _books, but the story will primarily follow the movies.**

* * *

I don't really remember much. I just remember getting shot with an arrow. Ugh, my head hurt as I struggled to sit up. "Easy," a voice said in English as I finally sat up. "You should not move too fast." I looked. It was Tauriel. I looked down and saw I was still wearing my clothes. I didn't care about that, though. There were only two things I cared about: getting home and making sure Thorin and his men were safe.

I took a deep breath and tried to use English. "Prince?" I asked. "Thorin?"

"The prince is safe. You saved him, my lady," Tauriel explained. She didn't answer my question about Thorin, but she continued on. "You do not know the prince. Why would you save him?"

"Important," I tried to explain. My expression changed to one of determination and a hint of assertiveness. "Want leave."

"My lady, you cannot leave just yet; your wound has only just begun to heal—" I cut Tauriel off as I stood up and took off on my own. I silently cursed my inability to swim as I speed-walked the best I could back to the river that Thorin and his men went down. I looked down the river and saw several boats sailing towards a town. I could only assume Thorin was in one of those boats. Did he and his men make it out? If I recalled correctly, one of them was wounded.

I noticed a small boat big enough for two on the shoreline. I couldn't swim or...pretty much anything in water, but rowing couldn't be that hard, right? All you had to do was push the boat off the land and...well, I'd figure it out from there. I was lucky there were two oars nearby. I walked to the boat, and then I pushed the boat into the water and jumped into it. The boat wobbled a bit when I landed, but it steadied itself seconds later. I smiled to myself. Step one was done. What the hell was step two?

Right. Rowing. I tried to move the oars in one direction, but that didn't work. "What do I do now?" I sighed to myself. I moved the oars in the other direction, and succeeded in getting away from the shoreline. Great! Now how was I supposed to turn? I shook my head and figured I'd cross that bridge when I got to it, if I got to it. The river just seemed to go straight, so I continued in the same direction.

I wasn't sure how time passed here, but it had to be at least an hour before I reached land, and I was out of breath. I splashed some of the river water on my face after I got out of the boat. I looked up, and there was a mountain. Was this the mountain Thorin was talking about? There was only one way to find out: climb.

I climbed the mountain in silence. I was ready to pass out from heat exhaustion (and just exhaustion in general) by the time I reached the top. There was no water nearby for me to cool off. At least, not that I could see.

Suddenly, I was swarmed by several dwarves. "State your business, elf," one of them said with an axe pointed at me. My eyes widened in fear as I searched for a word I could understand. "Hurry up!"

"Thorin!" I said fearfully with my hands up in surrender.

Thorin walked forward and said something in another language. The dwarves lowered their weapons (some of them were a little reluctant). Thorin turned to me and said, "Lady Yue! You live! When I saw you shot, I thought the worst!"

I took that to mean that I had survived and I nodded. "I okay," I said

"Yue, these are Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori, and Master Bilbo Baggins," Thorin introduced. "This is Lady Yue, the woman I told you about." I quickly matched the names to the faces. "She does not speak the Common Tongue." I assumed he meant English.

"Does she understand it?" the one called Balin asked.

"Somewhat," Thorin sighed. "Communication with her has been a struggle, but we have managed."

I looked around and noticed some of the other dwarves were missing. Kili was the first one I remembered. "Where Kili?" I asked.

"Kili was wounded, so we left him in the safety of Lake Town."

"Lake Town...place?" Thorin nodded. Then I realized something. If I had been shot with poison, what prevented poison from being shot at Kili? "Arrow poison! Kili poison!"

Thorin's eyes widened. "Kili is in Lake Town with his brother, Fili. They are my nephews!" Thorin's tone turned to one of fear. "I do not know if anyone can help him."

"Lake Town where?" I asked. I wasn't sure what I could do, but Thorin needed my help. I wasn't going to let him lose anyone if I could help it. Thorin was confused, but asked Balin for some parchment and something to write with before he drew a map. He probably assumed I wouldn't understand directions in English, given my broken ability to speak it and understand it.

"Why do you wish to know?" Thorin asked as he finished the map.

"I save Kili," I said with determination. "No want you lose more."

"Why? You do not know us."

My response was two words: "Good people." With that, I turned and bolted down the mountain. I jumped into the boat and I began to row until I saw a town. I sighed in relief upon reaching the land the town was on. That had to be Lake Town. The town guards aimed arrows at me, but once I mentioned Thorin's name (that seemed to do a lot), they lowered their arrows and let me in. I walked through the town that seemed to be dead.

Suddenly, I heard screams of pain. I ran towards them and urgently knocked on the door of the house where the screams were coming from. The door opened and a blonde dwarf stood in the doorway. "Kili?" I asked.

"I am Kili's brother, Fili," the blonde dwarf introduced. "An elf?"

I gave up trying to understand things like 'elf' and 'dwarf.' I just nodded and said, "Want help. Let me."

* * *

After much talking, most of which was drawing pictures for me so I could understand, I learned that there was a plant called Athelas, or Kingsfoil, that could save Kili's life. I didn't know where it was or what it looked like, so Fili said he would go. "Not alone," I said after Fili spoke. "I with you."

"Can you fight?" Fili asked me.

Fight? I nodded in response. However, I had little to no experience with weaponry. Things like swords and daggers couldn't be that hard, right? I fought hand to hand back at the river, but these creatures, whatever they were, had weapons. I couldn't go in unarmed. "Sword? Dagger?" I asked.

Suddenly, I remembered something. I scrambled around the house and found paper and a quill. I drew a picture of a sword that had a slit in the middle that another blade could easily fit into. "This?" I asked Fili. "Have this?"

Fili shook his head. "If you save my brother and we survive this, I'll see to it that we dwarves make you a blade the finest Middle Earth has seen," he said as he handed me two daggers in their sheaths on a belt. "Let's go."

We left the house, but it wasn't too long before we heard growling above us. I did my best to hide my gasp as Fili pulled me behind some barrels. "Orcs," he said in a voice laced with venom.

"Orc?" I repeated. "What orc?"

"They are creatures that hate everything and kill without care or remorse. They serve Azog the Defiler; he wants Thorin, my brother, and I all dead."

How much of that did I understand? Not much. He said it pretty quickly, too. "No understand," I sighed. I really wish I understood more English, but nothing made sense. All I understood were the names Fili listed and the word 'dead.' I looked up and could see the orc was sniffing out his prey.

We decided to silently follow the orc, but when we realized he was headed towards the house that Kili was in, we had to do something fast. "Athelas," I whispered as I pointed to Fili. He raised an eyebrow. "Azog want you dead. Go!" I think Fili understood my broken English, because he quietly ran off in search of the plant.

I tried to climb up the side of one of the houses as quietly as I could. I prayed that that creature wouldn't smell me. Unfortunately, my luck ran short, as when I reached for the edge of the roof of one of the houses, a piece broke off and I screamed as I fell. The orc turned in my direction. The height wasn't that high, but I knew a fall from the roof would more than likely kill me and the orc was more than likely going to eat me for some meal.

I closed my eyes and expected to feel the ground. Instead, I felt a pair of hands holding me. Did someone catch me? I opened my eyes and looked up. It was the prince! Tauriel was there, too, but she was fighting more orcs. "You really need to be more careful, Lady Yue," the prince said once he put me on my feet. I could feel my cheeks going red. What was this feeling? What was going on?I had no time to ponder this, as it wasn't long before we were quickly surrounded. I unsheathed my daggers nervously. "Can you fight?" the prince asked as he put an arrow on his bow.

"Little," I answered. "No want die. Scared." What I wanted, more than anything, was to go home. Back to Guilin, where there were no elves, dwarves, orcs...nothing. Just regular human beings. I wanted my parents. I wanted for this all to be a nightmare that someone would wake me up from. But it didn't seem like anyone could give me that. I angrily shoved one of my daggers into the throat of one of the orcs and pulled it out. The orc fell to the ground, dead. One down, about what seemed like a million more to go.

The prince (I still did not know his name) and I continued to fight off the orcs and kill them. Once two more fell down, I saw Kili up and on his feet killing orcs. "Back!" I shouted in the hopes that he would understand. "Back in house!"

Kili killed the last orc and fell to his hands and knees. Did Fili not make it back yet? Probably not, because Kili still looked quite pale. I ran over to him, and Tauriel made her way over as well. "We need to get him inside," she said. "Hurry!" I nodded and picked up Kili's arms while Tauriel grabbed his legs. We carried him back into the house. Fili still wasn't back, and I was getting very concerned. I sat down and I noticed I was sweating from the whole ordeal, as well as my anxiety over whether Kili would be okay. Legolas stayed outside.

"No die, Kili," I muttered as I prayed to some higher power that would hopefully hear me. Was there a higher power in this strange world? I wasn't sure. However, Kili couldn't die. Sadness followed Thorin, and, though I didn't know him well, I wanted to see him smile.

A tap on my shoulder jolted me out of my thoughts. I turned. "Fili!" I exclaimed in recognition of the dwarf. He nodded and triumphantly held up the plant. "You got it!" Fili quickly gave the plant to Tauriel. She quickly smashed up the plant and spread it over the wound where the poison came from. She said some stuff in another language that I didn't recognize as she did this. Kili was moving and screaming and thrashing from so much pain, Fili and a couple of other dwarves and I had to hold him down. It took some time, but his breathing evened out. He collapsed into sleep. He was no longer in pain.

"It work?" I asked. Fili nodded. "Thank goodness," I said in Mandarin as I sat down in relief.

* * *

I fell asleep for a few hours in the house. I didn't realize how much I needed the sleep until I noticed how much better my body felt. I looked down and noticed my clothes were different. Instead of the flowery dress I wore before, I wore a powder blue tunic and black breeches. I hoped it was Tauriel or another female who dressed me in my sleep.

I slowly sat up and looked at Kili. His leg was bound in a cloth and he was still asleep. Clearly, he needed sleep more than any of us. I got up and walked through the house. Oin and Fili were in the kitchen watching a pot of water boil. "Oh, good, miss, you're awake," a man said. I learned that the house we were in belonged to a father named Bard and his daughters, Sigrid and Tilda. This man must have been Bard. "I am Bard, and this is my home."

"Yue," I said as I pointed to myself. I needed to find the prince. I needed to thank him for catching me from my fall off the roof. Not only that, but I had a feeling something bad was about to happen. If I was going to keep Thorin and his men safe, I had to figure all of this out. Hopefully, the prince would have some answers. "Where prince?" I asked.

"He is—" Bard was cut off when no one other than the prince himself came through the door. Bard bowed to him and I curtseyed.

"Come with me," the prince said. How could I refuse? He was royalty. However, Kili was still resting. I looked back nervously and saw Tauriel sitting near Kili. The prince seemed to sense my nervousness, because he said, "Fear not, Lady Yue. The dwarf is in good hands with Tauriel."

I didn't understand what he said, but from his tone of voice, I could tell he was trying to reassure me. I looked at Bard. "Go, Lady Yue. We can look after Kili," he said as he pushed me forward and shut the door behind me. The prince and I walked away from the house in silence. I eyed him warily as we walked.

We stopped on the outskirts of the town in front of some trees. "Why did you save me?" the prince asked. "Before, with the arrow. You do not know me. I mean nothing to you."

That was something I managed to understand. "No want die," I nervously said as I looked him right in the eyes. They were blue, like the ocean, but I could tell they had seen a lot of things over many, many years.

"I can take care of myself."

"Strong, yes. But..." I trailed off. I was unsure of how to say the next part.

The prince looked at me and waited for me to continue. "'But?'" he repeated.

"Bad feeling. Death," I explained as I tried to get the words out. I sighed as I wished my English was better.

"I do not plan on dying. However, if I am to find out where that creature came from and why he wants those dwarves dead, I must follow after him."

I sighed. There was no dissuading him. I couldn't let him go alone, though. "I with you," I said. I could be stubborn when I wanted to be. The prince raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I protect you, Prince..." I trailed off in the realization that I didn't know his name.

"Legolas," he introduced himself. "You must be strong if you want to protect me, Lady Yue."

"You know me?" I was surprised. I couldn't recall ever introducing myself to him.

"Tauriel told me about you. Yue...that is an unusual name, but unique. Does it mean something?"

"Moon," I answered nervously. So Tauriel told him about me. Now wasn't time to discuss names. "I protect you, Prince Legolas."

Prince Legolas sighed as he realized he couldn't get rid of me that easily. He nodded and led me to a white horse with reins but no saddle. He held out his hands towards me and asked, "May I?" It was then that I realized we would be going on horseback to...wherever we were going. I had never ridden a horse, but as long as I didn't fall off, I didn't think it would be that hard, right? I nodded, and then he picked me up and put me on the horse's back before he sat down in front of me on the horse.

Prince Legolas got the horse to charge forward and I quickly wrapped my arms around him tightly so I wouldn't fall off. We were going so fast; I thought I was going to be sick.

We rode in silence. I assumed Legolas was concentrating hard on guiding the horse to where we had to go. I tried to look at my surroundings, but they were a blur. There was one thing I did notice once the horse came to a sudden stop, and Legolas and I got off the horse. The sight of it made me scream.

"Spider!" I screamed in Mandarin. My eyes were wide in fear and I could feel my body begin to shake. That spider was HUGE! I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Legolas looked at me with confused eyes before he looked past me and saw the spider. He shot an arrow right into its mouth and it collapsed, dead.

"Lady Yue, you need to breathe," Legolas said calmly as he sat me down. He sat down in front of me. Breathe. That was something I understood. "Deep breaths, Lady Yue." I took some breaths in through my nose and then exhaled the air out of my mouth. I couldn't afford to panic. Not if I was going to protect Prince Legolas. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Where are we?" I asked.

"Near a place called Dol Guldor," Prince Legolas explained. "We cannot go there. It is dangerous."

"Dangerous? Because spiders?"

"You learn quick. The spiders are one of a few reasons why I cannot go to Dol Guldor."

I nodded in somewhat of an understanding. However, I knew we had to go. I wasn't sure how it happened, but I was suddenly somehow able to understand the birds in the trees above. They were talking about an old man. No, not an old man. A wizard. A wizard who was trapped in that place and needed help. "Hear that?" I asked Prince Legolas. "Birds talking to each other. Wizard trapped. Old man. Grey beard. Need help."

Prince Legolas clearly knew something I didn't, because his eyes widened as he gasped, "Mithrandir?"

"Who?"

"The wizard you described. His name in Westron is Gandalf the Grey."

I looked towards where the spider's carcass lay and realized I had to go into Dol Guldor if I had any hope of saving Thorin and his men, as well as protecting Prince Legolas. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "I help him," I decided. Was it dangerous? Yes. Could I die? Yes. Did I have a choice? Not really.

I turned and began to walk away, before Prince Legolas grabbed my arm and exclaimed. "It is too dangerous, Lady Yue! Even if it was not, I am forbidden to go near that place."

"Forbidden? Mean what?" I had never heard the word, so I was unsure of what it meant. However, he looked torn.

"Not allowed." It was then that I realized he was following his father's orders. It looked like I was going on my own.

I wrenched my arm out of his firm grip. I was determined. I didn't want to see anyone die. "I come back soon. Promise," I said. I held out my arms and asked, "May I?" The prince raised an eyebrow but nodded all the same. I wrapped my arms tightly around him in a big hug. I let go after a few seconds, spared him a parting glance, and ran in the direction of the dangerous place I could not pronounce.

* * *

When I finally reached the place, which appeared to be an old, crumbling fortress, I was out of breath. I knew I should have gone on horseback. Then again, I didn't know how to ride by myself. Suddenly, as if by magic, a large, buckskin horse whinnied behind me. "What's going on?" I whispered to myself in Mandarin as I carefully reached out to pet it. I stopped myself. I couldn't ponder on this. Time was of the essence. That old man the birds spoke of could be dying, and if he did die, I would never forgive myself.

I steeled my nerves, unsheathed my daggers, and went into the fortress. It wasn't incredibly well-lit. Well, it wasn't, until a small group of fireflies swarmed in front of me and lit up. "No way," I muttered to myself. It was as if I was in tune with most, if not all of the animals, of this world. I silently thanked the fireflies as they led me forward.

After a few minutes, I saw a cage with an old man slumped against the bars. I silently gasped and took note of the orcs that I could see marching away from the cage. Whether they were supposed to be guarding it or not was something I didn't know, but what was important was that they had abandoned their post.

Some of the fireflies flew to the old man and flashed, while others were in front of me and flashed. The man noticed me for the first time and I looked around before I made my way forward. "Help you," I said just loud enough for him to hear me but quiet enough so no one else would hear me. There was a lock on the cage. Whoever was in charge of this place was doing a pretty bad job of guarding it, given all the orcs left their posts. I wasn't complaining, though.

The fireflies guided me to a rock about the size of the palm of my hand. If I banged on the lock hard enough with it, it would come off. I nodded in understanding before I picked up the rock and followed the fireflies to the old man. I looked at the lock, then at the old man, then back at the lock. It looked ancient, like the metal it was made from was starting to rust. Nevertheless, I used the rock. I couldn't afford to make any noise, but I had no choice if I was to save this person.

I banged once, twice, three times, and the lock came off. The old man collapsed into my arms. I wasn't Superman or any other fictional character with super strength. I needed help, but there was only so much the fireflies could do. I hated to drag the poor guy, who looked like he was in desperate need of something to eat and drink, but I had no choice. I got him to lean on me and we made our way behind a crumbling wall.

Suddenly, I heard something. I carefully looked around one side of the wall and saw orcs, lots of them. They were back! That wasn't a good sign. They sniffed the air and I could tell they smelled something, but I suddenly saw another orc. This one was pale and seemed more sinister than the others. This particular orc barked something in a rough language that I didn't understand, and the orcs left with him. Whatever that orc was, I didn't trust it. I was alive, but only for now.

I made a run for it back to the entrance with the old man leaning on me for support. We followed the fireflies. Once we were safely out, the fireflies flew away. I silently thanked them. Then, I saw the large, buckskin horse from before. It waited for me? It whinnied and galloped towards the old man and I. What was going on?

I couldn't ignore the old man. I sat him down against a tree trunk. "You Gandalf?" I asked warily. I hoped this was the right person.

He nodded. "That was very brave of you, Lady Yue," he commented. I understood the words 'you' and 'brave,' so I took that to mean he was complimenting me. I nodded in thanks. I figured by this point, everyone knew me. I had hoped to meet someone who didn't.

I helped Gandalf to his feet and we went in search of a body of clean water so we could both wash up. "My lady," Gandalf started, "I think you have a new friend." New friend? I turned to see that the horse was following us. The horse just wouldn't leave, would it?

I sighed. I went up and pet the horse on his nose before I said, "Name TaiYang (太阳)." TaiYang meant 'sun' in Mandarin, and it seemed fitting because of his color. It reminded me of the sun. He bent down. Gandalf was surprisingly strong for an old man, as he helped me onto TaiYang before he climbed on. I remembered what Prince Legolas did to get his horse going, so I did the same thing only a little more gently.

Gandalf and I rode TaiYang in silence as he carefully trotted along. It was as if he knew where he was going, because not only was I able to see a small body of water in the distance, I could see Prince Legolas next to it holding something. After a few minutes, we arrived in front of Legolas. I led Gandalf to the water so that he could wash up. "You are very brave, Lady Yue," Prince Legolas commented. It was then I noticed what was in his hands: my dizi bag! I held my arms out and he gave it to me. "It gave me hope while you were gone, my lady."

All I could do was smile and pray that the instrument wasn't cracked or damaged in any way. "Thank you," I said.

"Prince, I bring grave news," Gandalf said when he came over from washing up. "Sauron has returned. He is the necromancer. I saw him myself." Too many words, and big ones at that. Did English-speaking people always use so many words in their sentences? "I need to get to Erebor."

My eyes widened as I understood what he meant. Thorin and the others were probably in danger! "Thorin!" I exclaimed.

Prince Legolas and Gandalf looked at me before Gandalf asked, "Do you know him?"

"Um..." I wasn't sure how to answer his question. Not because I didn't understand him, but because I wasn't sure of my relationship with Thorin. He wasn't a friend, but he wasn't an enemy, either. He was more of an acquaintance, but I couldn't pronounce that. "He is friend," I tried.

Suddenly, I heard a loud roar that came from up in the sky. I saw fire. "Dragon," I whispered in awe and fear. It was terrifying and amazing to look at. My eyes were the size of dinner plates. "TaiYang," I shouted. The horse in question ran to me and bent down. Having seen Prince Legolas and Gandalf do it a few times, I climbed onto TaiYang's back. "请问，我想帮助跟回Erebor!" I shouted in fear. Gandalf and Prince Legolas looked at me with confusion all over their faces. I must have been so scared, I forgot that they didn't speak Mandarin. "Um...请问，help get friends!"

"Do you mean to say 'please help me get to my friends?'" Gandalf asked. I nodded. I could work on English later. There were more pressing matters. I nodded.

"I will take you to Erebor myself, Lady Yue," Prince Legolas said. He got on TaiYang in front of me.

"I must speak to the king," Gandalf said to Prince Legolas, who nodded in understanding.

"Take my horse," Prince Legolas offered. The white horse walked up to Gandalf, who quickly got on its back.

"Fly, my friends. And Lady Yue, I can only hope you will be able to help Thorin see reason." Gandalf said to me. I raised an eyebrow.

"What reason? Something happen?" I asked. Gandalf could only sigh before he heeled his horse and went in the other direction. I looked behind me at Prince Legolas. "Go?" I asked. He nodded.

Off to Erebor. I prayed to whatever higher power would listen that everything was alright.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks again for the lovely response! I didn't name the people who favorited and followed this by name (probably should have), but thank you to the following AMAZING people: Caladhiel999, Elena D'Amico, Rogue Reader, Sonata Fuling, and pushtrak1 for following/favoriting this! Love you 3000 (_Avengers: Endgame_ reference, for those wondering)!**

**PLEASE let me know if Yue is becoming a Mary Sue. Sues are funny when they're intentional. When they're not intentional, they're not funny. And I'm trying to avoid making her a Mary Sue. This part of my A/N will be in probably every chapter until I'm somehow convinced enough that Yue isn't a Mary Sue.**

**Because Yue's first language is Mandarin, that's the language she'll think in (unless I say otherwise).**

**Time for review responses!**

**Caladhiel999: Better than yours? I sincerely doubt that, but that's high praise! Thank you!**

**Olddantrucker: I appreciate the constructive criticism! As for your first review: I don't follow politics (much, if at all). I didn't entirely understand the social credit system while I was in China (very confusing). Call me what you will (it's not like I haven't heard any of it before), but that's the truth. Second review: ****I don't know the conversion between Celsius and Fahrenheit, so all I can say is that if you go to Guilin in the summer, it is BOILING. It can get up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit there (sometimes higher). ****As for your third review: I'm trying to stray from the script as much as I can, but certain things do have to happen a certain way. While I will try to stray from the script as much as I can, I can only do so much.**

**kanna does not own A Warrior's Heart or _Lord of the Rings_ or _The Hobbit_. You know who they belong to!**

* * *

Remember that higher power I mentioned earlier that I freaking PRAYED would be listening? Well, that higher power, whatever or whoever it was, didn't listen. I think I might have been ignored.

Why?

When we arrived, Laketown was in ruins. The entire town had been burned to the ground. I could only hope that Bard, Sigrid, Tilda, and the other citizens of Laketown, as well as my new found acquaintances in the dwarves, were all right. I called out for them, and soon after, Fili, Kili, and Tauriel came up to us. "Lady Yue!" Kili exclaimed.

"Kili," I responded happily.

"I am relieved to see you are well! Tauriel told me about how you not only helped her help me, but also how you helped to defend Bard's family from the orcs! That was very brave and kind of you."

"Happy you better." I looked to the mountain then back at Prince Legolas. "Go?" He nodded. "TaiYang!" The horse in question ran up to us and Legolas and I climbed on. "Be back soon."

"You two are not going by yourselves," Fili declared. "Kili and I will accompany you. We won't take no for an answer." So stubborn! Then again, I guess I was one to talk. Kili and Tauriel went to get two ponies and quickly came back. I smiled when the horses whinnied.

I worried for them, though. They were only ponies. While I was worried for TaiYang, of course, TaiYang was a full-grown horse. "Our journey will be dangerous, my friends," I whispered to the two ponies in Mandarin. I was not sure if they could understand me, but I paid it no mind. "Are you up for it?" The ponies reared back on their hind legs and neighed.

It looked like we had a group going up the mountain. "Ready?" I asked. Fili and Kili both nodded before they each got on a pony. I looked at Legolas. He warily eyed the mountain before he, too, nodded. "Go." I heeled Tai Yang and he took off at a very quick pace towards the mountain. The ponies were not far behind us.

All I could do while we rode was pray to whatever higher power that would listen that the citizens of Laketown and the dwarves were alright. "Please," I whispered to myself in Mandarin, "please be alright."

We rode all night to the mountain and by the next morning, we had reached it. We ran into one problem, though: the dwarves would not let Legolas in. I tried to get them to let him in, but all I got was one dwarf saying, "Wood elves are not welcome here! Lady Yue, you are welcome, but he is not."

I didn't understand. Why did the dwarves hate the elves? The feeling seemed to be mutual given what I saw of Prince Legolas' body language. I sighed. I needed to get in there. It was bold of me, but I held my arms out towards the prince and asked, "May I?" Prince Legolas quickly understood what I wanted to do. I wrapped my arms around him tightly. What I hadn't expected was for him to return my hug just as tightly. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It felt so comfortable to be in his arms. Something about it just felt so right. I was hopeful that eventually, we'd be able to drop the formalities.

I broke the hug and traced the character for my name, 月, on the palm of his hand. "I come back. Promise," I said. I spared him a parting glance and entered the mountain with Fili and Kili. I heard Legolas say something, but I couldn't clearly make out what it was.

At the front gate, there was a barricade. "Thorin?" I yelled. Fili and Kili also called their uncle's name.

"Lady Yue! Fili! Kili!" Thorin yelled as ran up to us. He hugged his nephews tightly before he turned to me and said, "Lady Yue, I am in your debt. You have saved my nephew's life."

My English comprehension was getting better. I understood what he said, but I could only smile and nod. I would have done it anyway. All life is precious. "You need listen," I said seriously. Thorin nodded. "Clear mind needed. Smaug destroy homes."

"I know Smaug destroyed Laketown," Thorin replied. "I will help them, but—" Thorin was cut off suddenly.

"Rider approaching!" another dwarf shouted. "It is a wood elf!"

A wood elf? I had a bad feeling in my gut that something was about to happen. I ran outside and quickly climbed on TaiYang. I heeled him and he charged forward. I held on tight before he came to a sudden stop in front of a surprising face: Prince Legolas on his horse. "Why here?" I asked him after we each got off our horses.

"I'm here to warn you," he said breathlessly. "My father is coming with an army of elves. He wants a share of the treasure in the mountain."

My eyes widened in fear. I remembered the king of Mirkwood well. He was cold in personality, like ice. He seemed like the kind of person who would throw a fit like a child if he didn't get his way. I bet he wasn't incredibly happy when he found out Thorin, his men, and I all escaped from the dungeons. "Thorin is not going to like this," I thought. I shook my head. "You need to go," I said in surprisingly perfect English. Granted, the accent was still there and it came out a little shakily, but all the words were in the right order. "They will kill you."

Prince Legolas smiled at me. Oh, how I longed to be able to talk to him in fluent English. "I know I do," he sighed as his smile faded. "However, while I will never harm you or see you harmed, I must stand with my father."

I could tell he was torn between his father and his friendship (was it more?) with me. I took one of his hands and held it in both of mine. "Not to blame," I said before I decided to screw the formalities and pulled him into a hug, one which he returned after a moment. "Not your fault," I reiterated.

Prince Legolas broke the hug and held me at arm's length. "Come with me," he pleaded. "I will keep you safe, I promise."

I smiled sadly. I was torn, as well. I wanted to go with him. However, I could not abandon my new found acquaintances—no, friends—in the dwarves. I shook my head and replied, "No. I cannot abandon my friends. Thorin and others good people."

"And for that, I am grateful. I am glad they are all good to you." The prince sighed again. "I will try and persuade my father to see reason, but I make no promises." That made no sense whatsoever and didn't click in my comprehension of the English language. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Prince Legolas could see I was confused, so he reiterated, "I will talk to my father. However, I cannot promise he will see reason." Oh. So that's what he meant.

"Please try," I whispered after I pulled him into a tight hug. The prince spared me a lingering look of sadness before he broke the hug. He got back on his horse and rode away.

I had to warn Thorin. Inside a mountain was no place for a horse. "Stay safe," I whispered to TaiYang in Mandarin. He snorted.

I ran back inside the mountain to Thorin and told him what I had talked to Prince Legolas about. I warned him about the elf army and how I tried to get Legolas to fight with us, but to no avail. "What can we do?" I asked.

"You are improving, Lady Yue," Thorin praised. His look turned to one of seriousness as he said, "Fear not. None of our treasure shall go to those _elves_." He said the word 'elves' with a sneer, which hurt a little. I shook it off. I had to be strong. Thorin and the others were my friends. I did not want to see anyone harmed, be it elf or dwarf.

I closed my eyes in sadness and a tear escaped my eye. There was a fight coming. Why couldn't the elves and dwarves just talk it out? "Something wrong?" Thorin asked.

I nodded. "No want to see fighting. No harm to dwarves or elves. Talk," I suggested.

"It is very clear that they do not wish to talk, my lady. That much was made clear when they locked us up. Surely you remember?" So Thorin still held a grudge from that. I didn't blame him; I probably would have, too. However, my personality wasn't designed for holding grudges. "Fear not," Thorin continued. "You will not be harmed. You may be an elf, but you have the heart of a dwarf. I consider you one of my own. Rest assured, we shall all protect you."

That wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear, but I could see that there was no getting through to Thorin. I could only pray that Legolas was having better luck with his father.

* * *

I fell asleep leaning against one of the walls inside the mountain. Several hours must have gone by, because when I woke up, it was dark outside. I heard a dwarf shout, "Elf approaching!" I jumped up and knew I needed to be alert. When I reached the barricade, it was the one person who made my heart beat out of my chest: Prince Legolas. I smiled.

"Lower weapons!" I shouted to the dwarves. I climbed on TaiYang and rode out to meet him. We both got off of our horses and he smiled at me before he gave me a hug which I returned after a moment.

"My lady..." the prince trailed off after he broke the hug. No words were needed. I had a feeling about what had happened between him and his father, and I wasn't surprised.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I tried, I really did," I said earnestly. "Thorin not listen to me. Thinks he protects us."

"He thinks he is protecting you?!" Legolas asked incredulously. "My lady, my father has a very, very large army. Should this come to a fight..." he trailed off and the rest of what he wanted to say was implied. There would be a fight, and lives would be lost on both sides.

I had so many questions, but they would have to wait. Thorin was probably wondering where I was. "I must go," I said sadly. I pulled the prince into one last hug before I broke it off and ran back into the mountain. However, when I got inside, I noticed the dwarves were short one: Thorin was not there. "Where Thorin? Need speak him."

An older dwarf grabbed my wrist before I could walk further into the mountain. I recognized this dwarf to be Balin. I raised an eyebrow. "I do not think it wise, Lady Yue," he said.

"Why?" It was after I heard the sound of coins moving around that I understood. While I didn't know the story behind the treasure, let alone the mountain, I did know that greed was something that could drive people mad. Was this happening to Thorin? I had to find out. I went further into the mountain, despite the protests of the other dwarves.

When I arrived, I was stunned by all the gold and jewels. While I had no desire for such things, it was definitely a sight to behold. I exchanged a few words with him before I realized that this was no longer the person I knew. I angrily walked away with tears in my eyes. "Anything?" Balin asked me. I shook my head and the tears fell freely. I felt my knees turn to jelly as I leaned against the wall and slid down into a sitting position. I felt betrayed. I could not believe someone who talked so much about honor would lose his heart to a pile of materialistic things.

"My lady..." Balin trailed off. My cries turned into full on sobs as I felt Balin gently embrace me in the way a father would embrace his daughter. It made me miss my dad. How I longed to go home! Sadly, that seemed like a faraway dream. I leaned into Balin's shoulder and sobbed. I wasn't sure why I was crying so hard.

Eventually, I took some deep breaths. I asked Balin, "Any way to stop it? No want lives lost."

"I do not know about stopping it, but..." Balin trailed off.

"'But?'" I repeated.

"If you were to go to Mirkwood on behalf of Thorin, perhaps you could try to reason with Thranduil." I opened my mouth as if to say something, but Balin cut me off with, "You are an elf, but you have the heart of a dwarf. Thranduil just might listen to you."

The word 'might' was probably the most important word in that sentence. "Alone?" I asked as I silently prayed the answer would be 'no.'

My luck ran short. Balin said, "I'm afraid so."

* * *

I was in front of Thranduil's tent before I knew it. TaiYang was fast and had incredible stamina. I whispered a quick thank you and promised him something yummy to eat after all this was over. I got off of his back, as I realized I could take him no further. I could hear shouting in another language and then the words, "Lower your weapons!" I recognized that voice: Prince Legolas.

I ran faster than I ever knew my legs could carry me. Before I knew it, I was in his arms. "Told you I come back," I said with a smile as I gently pulled away from him. My smile didn't quite reach my eyes, however, and Prince Legolas could clearly see that. "Thorin...not himself," I sighed.

"Were you thrown out?" the prince asked.

I quickly shook my head. "I was sent here. Talk to king."

"Who sent you?"

"Balin."

Prince Legolas and I walked in silence to meet his father, the king. He led me into the tent and told his father, "Lady Yue has come to speak to you."

"The girl who barely speaks the Common Tongue? The girl who escaped my dungeons with Thorin and his men and the halfling?" King Thranduil scoffed. "If you are able to, tell her I have more important matters to attend to."

King Thranduil was about to turn away when I said with a lot more assertiveness than I felt, "Please wait. I come in place of Thorin..." I couldn't pronounce his last name, but King Thranduil seemed to understand where I was going.

King Thranduil sighed. "Go on," he said as he turned back to face me.

I nodded. I needed perfect (or close to perfect) English for this. I quickly looked at Prince Legolas, who nodded encouragingly. "I come in place of Thorin. Dwarves want help Laketown people."

"Why are you here instead of the dwarves, then? You are no dwarf." I gulped. I couldn't tell the king about Thorin being driven mad with greed. Who knew what would happen if that were to get out? "Never mind. Continue."

I mentally sighed in relief before I continued, "Dwarves feel responsible for destruction of Laketown. Thorin does not want to start war. No dwarves want war. However, they not want you rewarded. Thorin believe you deserve nothing because you treat him and his men bad. No gold sent until elf host is dismissed." I mentally praised myself. That wasn't too bad! It came out shakily and was probably full of mistakes, but I delivered the message clearly.

"I see. And your thoughts on the matter, Lady Yue?"

"I...I no want lives lost on either side."

King Thranduil came closer to me and I gulped in fear as he grabbed my wrist. I knew Prince Legolas wouldn't go against his father, so I did the first thing I could think of.

I screamed.

I couldn't have imagined what happened next. Hawks came from out of nowhere and started attacking the tent; eventually causing it to collapse. They then began to attack King Thranduil. I silently hoped he wouldn't be hurt too badly as I saw my chance for escape when he released my hand to deal with the hawks and other animals that began to attack him. I ran as fast as I could to TaiYang and was about to climb on him when Prince Legolas caught up to me. "Lady Yue!" he called out.

I turned and noticed he didn't have a scratch on him. Why did the animals only attack King Thranduil? It made no sense. "My father...what did you do?" he asked angrily.

"I sorry...I don't know. I just screamed and..." I trailed off.

Prince Legolas's eyes widened in shock before his expression turned to one of seriousness. "While I do not condone what you did to my father, I will stand with you. While both sides are wrong, Thorin and his men are more in the right than my father."

I smiled. "Thank you." I climbed on TaiYang and rode back to Erebor.

* * *

When I got back to Erebor, I hurriedly (and with the help of pictures I drew) described what happened with King Thranduil and Prince Legolas to the remaining dwarves there. Balin informed me that Thorin recovered from what was called 'dragon sickness' and that Fili, Kili, Dwalin, and Thorin were on their way to kill Azog the Defiler in Ravenhill. Bilbo was gone, as well. They had tried to negotiate with King Thranduil before leaving, and while it worked, orcs were out and about, as well as Azog the Defiler.

I had a bad feeling, so I quickly went out and climbed on TaiYang's back. "Ravenhill is our destination, my friend," I whispered in Mandarin, which TaiYang seemed to understand (somewhat). "Do you know the way?" He snorted, which I took to mean 'yes.' Did horses know how to get to every single place in this world? I shook it off and heeled TaiYang. We were off to Ravenhill.

All I could do was hope that my friends were safe.

It wasn't much longer until we had to stop for water. I hoped we were at least halfway there. I sighed and splashed some of the cool water on my face. TaiYang took a long drink. He needed rest, and lots of it. While I was not overweight, it had to be hard for a horse to bear the weight of someone else and run at top speed. "Walk, my friend," I said in Mandarin. "We will travel the rest of the way on foot." TaiYang snorted before he finished his water and he ran forward. "TaiYang!" I called out as I ran after the horse. It didn't seem like TaiYang to just run off.

It was who I saw that made me understand why: TaiYang had stopped in front of Prince Legolas. "Why here?" I asked. "You with Tauriel? Your father? Anyone?"

"Azog has a son, Bolg. He went to Gundabad—another place, much like Dol Guldor—to summon their second army."

"They in Ravenhill?" Prince Legolas nodded. "We have to go now!"

"I was on my way to warn you and the other dwarves."

"No need," a gruff voice said behind me. I turned and saw Balin and the other dwarves. I smiled when I saw them.

"Balin," I said happily. "Why here?"

"You didn't think we'd let you go at this alone, did you, now?" Balin asked. The dwarves cheered.

"I...I no want any lives lost. Must be careful." They nodded. Stubborn dwarves! We were walking to our deaths, I was almost certain! I sighed. We had to go.

I climbed on TaiYang and followed Balin and the other dwarves to Ravenhill with Prince Legolas not too far behind.

I was not prepared to see what was there when we arrived.

Fili was dead; his body tossed aside like it was a rag doll. He was covered in blood. "Lady Yue!" Bilbo yelled as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Bilbo!" I recognized. I looked at Fili's body. "What happened here?"

"Fili was captured and tortured by Azog the Defiler until he died. Thorin, Kili, Dwalin, and I were all forced to watch."

"Where are they?"

"They are—" Bilbo fell to the ground unconscious after a swift blow to the head. I gasped and looked past him and saw a truly hideous creature that seemed to have a scar running down its face run in the other direction after knocking Bilbo unconscious. Another orc? It looked like one.

"What is that?" I asked fearfully.

"Bolg, son of Azog the Defiler, my lady," the prince replied. "Where is Tauriel?"

I scanned the area and was shocked to find Tauriel on the ground, wounded. I ran to her and checked for a pulse. She was still breathing. "Alive!" I yelled. Everyone seemed relieved. So was I...until I heard what happened next.

I heard a scream come from a ruined tower. Who was it? I couldn't place it. Tauriel's eyes began to flutter open and she slowly sat up. "Kili," she weakly said. "We must save him!"

"No condition for fight," I countered. "We save Kili. Dwalin and Balin, watch her." They nodded. "Let's go!"

We ran as fast as we could, but there was no preventing what we saw when we got into the tower and climbed to the middle.

Kili was stabbed with the tip of some kind of weapon that belonged to Bolg. I didn't know what it was called, but it looked spherical and had spikes all over it. He fell to the ground, dead. Bolg picked him up, took a deep sniff (that made me want to vomit...was Bolg going to eat Kili?), and threw him out the window like a rag doll.

"No!" I shouted as I felt tears of anger go down my face. "No more! No one else die!" Bolg simply smirked. "You die for that," I muttered. I felt a sudden surge of power, unlike anything I had ever felt before. There was a loud growl that sounded like a bear, and Bolg looked away. That was my chance! I grabbed Prince Legolas's daggers and quickly ran up to Bolg and slashed his throat. Blood was everywhere (mostly on me), but I didn't care. I had to get to Thorin!

As if my thoughts of transport were suddenly answered, a giant eagle came down and flew by the window. I wasn't sure how I could tell, but I knew that this eagle was here to help. "Take me to Thorin?" I asked. The eagle bobbed its head up and down, which I assumed meant 'yes.'

I had no idea how to ride an eagle, but it couldn't be that hard, right? If the _Harry Potter _movies taught me anything, it was that as long as you didn't pull out feathers/fur/hair, you were ok. Prince Legolas helped me onto the eagle's back. I hoped he and the others knew what to do, because I had no clue. "Let's go!" I said before the eagle flew off.

Flying was such an exhilarating feeling. I loved the feel of the wind in my hair. It was a little hard to breathe, but I quickly got used to it as we flew to Thorin, who lay on the ground, dying.

"Thorin!" I shouted as soon as I got close enough to the ground to climb off the eagle's back. I climbed off and rushed over and saw Bilbo had regained consciousness and was talking to Thorin. Bilbo walked away when he saw me and I kneeled down next to my dying friend.

Thorin was covered in blood, but when I could tell that not all of it was his. Most of it was his opponent's, and his opponent was none other than Azog the Defiler. "Dead?" I asked. Thorin weakly nodded. I silently prayed that he wouldn't die. I knelt down and put his head in my lap.

"Lady...Yue..." he weakly said. His voice was just above a whisper.

"Save strength, Thorin," I said as anxious tears went down my face.

"Let me...die honorably," he pleaded.

"No! No more death!" I turned to the others, but no one was moving. They all just stood in place with tears going down their faces. Even Prince Legolas was crying. "Why?" I yelled at no one in particular. The eagle who took me to Thorin stood by me. I felt something move in my lap and noticed Thorin's head was no longer being supported by his body. He was dead.

I screamed in anguish. I felt his death was my fault. If I had just tried harder to get him out of the treasure, or gotten him out of the way from Azog the Defiler faster, or something, this could have been prevented. "Not fair," I muttered as my sobs quieted. I gently placed his head on the ground and closed his eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Originally, when I drafted this, I had no intention of killing off Thorin, so I'd like to apologize to my readers who are probably more than a little pissed that I did that. Then I thought (slight spoiler if you haven't read A Warrior's Heart), "Caladhiel999 let Thorin live in her fic, and I want this to be as different as possible." While I didn't particularly enjoy writing Thorin's death (actually, I don't enjoy writing anyone's death), I still felt it was needed to give Yue some growth (which we'll see in later chapters). **

**This chapter was very difficult to write, as I was (and still am) going through some personal stuff. Things are (somewhat) ok now, but chapter updates may not be as frequent. I'm trying to update my other LotR fic, Miracle, as well (it's a _Gunslinger Girl _and LotR crossover, actually).**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So I forgot to tell you that I may have kinda-sorta slept through parts of BotFA the second time I saw it. Sorry, it just wasn't one of my favorite _Hobbit _movies. I did see most of it, though, and I looked up the parts I missed online. So while I know how the movie (and the book; I really enjoyed the book) ended (Thorin and Fili and Kili dying, for example), I want to try and take some of my own liberties with this. Some parts after this chapter (maybe this chapter included) will be filler. Just until we get to _Fellowship_.**

**I want to say this for the record: Once I decided to go with the draft where Thorin was killed off (aka the previous chapter), I was stuck deciding if I wanted to keep Kili and/or Fili alive. That chapter went through several drafts, but I ultimately decided to stick to the book/movie in that regard. They were two of my favorite characters (even if they were just there to be comic relief) in _The Hobbit_ and I hated that they were killed in the book and movie.**

**PLEASE let me know if Yue is becoming a Mary Sue. Sues are funny when they're intentional. When they're not intentional, they're not funny. And I'm trying to avoid making her a Mary Sue. This part of my A/N will be in probably every chapter until I'm somehow convinced enough that Yue isn't a Mary Sue.**

**In this chapter, we'll be exploring Yue's heritage a little bit. I'll explain why I wrote what I did at the end of the chapter.**

**Time for review responses!**

**Victoria: I wish I could come up with funny phrases like that! If you had an account, I'd be contacting you nonstop (well, almost nonstop) for comedy; you're so funny!**

**kanna does not own A Warrior's Heart or _Lord of the Rings_ or _The Hobbit_. You know who they belong to!**

* * *

It was only a couple of hours or so later the next day (probably the middle of the afternoon) when Thorin, Fili, and Kili's funerals (well, it was actually one joint funeral) ended. To me, however, it felt like it had been more. I still felt responsible. Even though I had taken a bath and changed clothes (I had been forced to get rid of my dress and beanie, as the dress was covered in blood, and Tauriel told me that I should be proud to be an elf and not hide my ears, so I now wore grey funeral attire with flowers in my hair), I still felt as if there was blood on my hands.

I walked away from the graves of the fallen dwarves who grew to be like family to me and walked into a forest. I called for TaiYang and he came right up to me. "Take me into the forest, my friend," I whispered before I climbed on his back. The other dwarves had gone back to Erebor, and I told them I would return to Erebor before sundown. TaiYang trotted along while I silently wondered about what my connection was with these animals. First TaiYang, then the hawks attacking Thranduil, then a giant eagle obeying my commands without a second thought.

TaiYang soon stopped and let out what sounded like a growl. "What's wrong?" I asked in Mandarin worriedly. Then, I saw it. There was a black bear on its hind legs. It growled when it saw TaiYang and I immediately tensed up. I closed my eyes. I felt frozen. I couldn't say anything to TaiYang, let alone scream for help.

I heard the bear growl, but when I opened my eyes, the bear wasn't there. A tall, muscular man with black, shaggy hair that probably hadn't seen water or soap in quite some time stood in its place. "No one has been able to do that," he said in a voice filled with awe.

"Who are you? Where is the bear?" I asked fearfully. "Dead?" I didn't see a dead body, so I had a feeling that asking if the bear was dead was probably a stupid question.

The man barked a laugh. "Dear child, I _am _the bear you saw." My eyes widened in confusion. Was anything possible in this world? I was waiting for someone to tell me about talking trees next. I mean, that was pretty unlikely, right? The man continued. "I am a Skin-changer, child. And you are the first person to force me back into my human form." He walked forward and caressed my cheek. "What are you?" He noticed my ears. "An elf? How? No elf has this kind of power."

"I always in tune with animals," I tried to explain. I was relieved this bear...man...Skin-changer (or whatever he was called) wouldn't eat me or TaiYang. My English was coming out brokenly again. I climbed off of TaiYang and reached out a hand, "Name Yue."

"Yue? How unique. Does it mean something?" He put his hand in mine and shook my hand.

"Moon." The man broke the handshake.

"Interesting," he mused. "I am known as Beorn." He took a sniff. "You smell like dwarves, yet you are an elf. Why?"

I perked up. Did he know Thorin and the others? "You know Thorin?" I asked hopefully.

"Thorin? Yes, he and his company passed through my woods some time ago. Why?" I told him what happened, about what was called 'The Battle of the Five Armies.' He stood in silence as he processed the information. "So he is dead."

I nodded ruefully. "My fault."

"Dear child, you must not blame yourself. I doubt that Thorin would want to see you blaming yourself."

"If I had just—"

"What is done is done. There is nothing we can do to change the past." TaiYang whinnied. "Your horse is right." I was about to ask how he knew what my horse was saying, before I realized that if he could become a bear, Beorn could probably become any animal and understand what they were saying.

I sighed. "You are right. Thorin not want me blame myself." I looked at the sky and saw that the sun was starting to go down. "Thank you, Beorn. Must return Erebor. Meet again?" I hoped I would see Beorn again. Hopefully he would help me understand my connection with animals.

"We shall see, child, we shall see."

* * *

"So, you met Beorn," Dain, the king of Erebor, said after I told him what took me so long to return to Erebor. "What will you do now?"

I hadn't thought of that. I had wanted to go home, but that just seemed like a childish fever dream at this point and I had honestly given up any and all hope of going home. "Stay...will you let me stay?" I asked hopefully.

Dain laughed loudly and it echoed all around us. "Dear Lady Yue, of course. Thorin considered you a daughter, and you are a sister to us all. Blood or not, you are our sister." I smiled.

"Thank you, Dain."

I was about to walk out and see what Balin was doing before Dain called me back. "The elf prince left you something before he left with his father and Tauriel and their troops," he said as he held out my dizi bag and a scroll. I looked curiously at the scroll before I took both it and my dizi bag.

"Thank you, King."

Dain smiled sadly before he said, "Please, just Dain. You are a sister to us all. I don't want formalities used between us unless absolutely needed."

I nodded and Bofur escorted me to a room with a bed and a window. "You will stay here," Bofur said. It was not a question. I thanked Bofur for escorting me to my room and closed the door. I put my dizi bag down and unrolled the scroll. It was a letter from Prince Legolas. While I didn't understand the meaning of all the words that were used, I was able to read and pronounce what was on the paper (save for the little bit of whatever language was at the bottom). It read:

_Lady Yue,_

_My apologies for not staying after the funeral. My father had urgent matters to attend to and could not wait any longer to return to our home, Mirkwood._

_I realized that I still held your flute bag and wanted to give it back to you, but when you rode your horse into the forest after the funeral, I knew you needed time to be alone. So I asked one of the dwarves to hold it until you returned._

_There is something interesting about you, my lady. The way you are so in tune with animals...no elf has this kind of power. There are those who will want it for themselves who can and more than likely will come after you. Please be prepared. I fear my father may be one of them._

_I realized that I wished to see you again. Meet me on the night of the full moon just outside of Dale in three days time._

_Ninion ned i vened 'win, I cry upon our leaving,_

_Legolas_

I smiled to myself. I missed him, for some reason. Were we friends? I guess; it was a little hard to say. I appreciated that he returned my flute to me. The one thing to remind me of my family back home. I resolved to work harder on English so that I would be able to fluently converse with the prince, as well as the other dwarves.

Speaking of the prince, I longed to drop formalities with him. None of this 'prince' and 'my lady' business between us. However, would his father allow a friendship between us? Doubtful; the guy didn't seem to like me very much. He seemed pretty power-hungry, too. Prince Legolas had mentioned that there were people who would want my connection with animals, and from what I knew of his father, I had a feeling he would be one of the people after me.

I had to find out who my parents were in order to figure all of this out. My thoughts then turned to my talk with Beorn. If no other elves held the power I had, the power to be in tune with animals, then what did that make me? I needed answers. I could feel my eyes starting to get heavy and I fell asleep on the bed. Sleep first. I could figure things out. After all, elves were immortal. I had all the time in the world.

* * *

I woke up groggily and realized I slept in my clothes the whole night. I'd have to get new clothes at some point; I couldn't just wear the same stuff for days on end. I looked outside and the sun was high in the sky. Was it the afternoon already? I ran my hands through my hair in an attempt to make myself look somewhat decent before I went in search of Balin.

"Can I help you, Lady Yue?" a dwarf with reddish-brown hair asked after I had walked around for a while and was unsuccessful in my search. I looked at him and recognized him as Gloin. He had a son, Gimli.

I wondered what Gloin was still doing in Erebor before I spoke. "Find Balin," I said. "Where is he?"

"Looking for you," Balin said as he came up to me. "Fili told me before he died that you wanted this made." He held up the picture of the sword with a slit in it that I drew. I gasped. I didn't realize that they still had that. "I wished to be the one to give you the sword. Follow me." He walked down the hall and I followed him in silence.

It wasn't long until we arrived at what looked like an armory. There were swords and shields and suits of armor everywhere. I noticed my sword lying on a table and it looked exactly like the picture I had drawn. I picked it up. It was lightweight and seemed easy enough to wield. "Thank you," I said. I looked around for a sheath and found a black one. I put the sword in the sheath and resolved only to use it if I had to.

I began to walk out of the armory before Balin called me back. "I did some research, my lady," he started. "No elf has the kind of power that you do. Nor does any man or dwarf. But..." he trailed off.

"'But?'" I pressed.

Balin sighed. "I came across something interesting in my research. There was one wizard who had a connection to animals like what you have: Radagast the Brown."

"And...?"

"I _think _he is your father."

I gasped. A wizard? Like Gandalf the Grey? My father? "How?"

Balin sighed. "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. You are an elf, so if Radagast the Brown is your father, then your mother must be an elf. Who, I cannot say. It is as if the pages of him ever having romantic involvement were burned out." I sighed. I could only read a little, and I couldn't comprehend everything I read in English. I sat down against the wall of the armory. My distress must have been all over my face, because Balin placed a hand on my shoulder. "Do not worry, Lady Yue. This is just a mystery that needs to be solved."

I nodded. "Thank you, Balin." I took the sword and walked out.

* * *

**A/N: I realize how short this chapter is, but the length seemed just right, so I decided to end it where I did. I'm hopeful next chapter will be longer.**

**As for Yue's father being Radagast the Brown (get ready for a lengthy explanation): **

**Originally, I was going to create two elves as OCs, but then I remembered how much I wished Radagast had a bigger role in the movies (I don't remember how big his role was in the book). So I became curious and went on Google to do some research to back up my thought process. And I learned that while Maiar (wizards) could marry and have children, it was unlikely they would ever want to. This was actually something that Tolkien changed his mind about. In the original draft of _The Silmarillion_, as well as when Tolkien began writing LotR, both wizards and the Valar were perfectly capable of having children. This idea was later scrapped, as Tolkien felt it was "too pagan" to have the gods he created marry and have kids. He envisioned the Valar more as Christian angels and less as Aesir (Norse mythology) or Olympians (Greek mythology).  
**

**There was, however, ONE EXCEPTION to this: the character, Melian, one of the Ainur (the first beings created by Iluvatar, the Valar and the Maiar). She and her husband, an elf named Thingol, had a daughter, Lúthien (as in Beren and Luthien). So, Melian was the exception to the rule. So, _theoretically_, any Ainu could marry and have kids. It just wasn't exactly that way in the stories Tolkien wanted to tell.**

**WOW that was a mouthful. If you have any questions regarding this, PLEASE send me a message or leave a review with your questions. I have multiple sources for my information.**


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